Sigur Ros get started on new album
The follow-up to 'Takk' is under way
Sigur Ros have started recording their new album, and expect it to be
completed within the year.

Despite having already recorded a number of songs for the follow-up
to 2005's 'Takk', the band are still unsure as to what direction the
new material is taking them.

In a message posted on the band's website, bassist George Holm
admits: "We don't know exactly where the album is heading yet. We are
really just experimenting at this stage. Some of the songs we
recorded are old songs which we had written a while ago, unreleased
material which we never got a chance to finish."

The band are set to perform a benefit for Tibet House at Carnegie
Hall in New York next month, as part of a line-up which includes
Philip Glass and Patti Smith. Tibet House is an organization co-
founded by Robert Thurman, father of Uma...

My Bloody Valentine set to record again
Kevin Shields: 'I will make another great record'
My Bloody Valentine are set to make another album, according to
leader Kevin Shields.

The band's last LP was 1991's 'Loveless', while Shields' also
contributed new tracks to the Sofia Coppola-directed 'Lost In
Translation' soundtrack in 2004. He also remixed Bow Wow Wow
for 'Marie Antoinette''s soundtrack by the same director.

However, recently discussing the possibility of a third 'proper' My
Bloody Valentine album, Shields said the prospects looked very
positive.

"I do feel that I will make another great record," he explained. "We
are 100 per cent going to make another My Bloody Valentine record
unless we die or something."

Talking to Magnet magazine, Shields added that the delay so far had
been down to a lack of inspiration.

"A lot of people say the reason My Bloody Valentine didn't make
another record is because we couldn't," he noted. "That's mostly
true, but not because we couldn't make another record, but because I
never could be bothered to make another record unless I was excited
by it. And just by fate or whatever, that never happened.

"I'd feel really bad if I didn't make another record. Like, 'Shit,
people only got the first two chapters, but the last bit is the best
bit'."

However the star admitted he was not sure when a new album would
appear, explaining: "How long will that take to transpire into an
actual physical record? I don't know."

Nick Cave's side project reveal album details
Full details of Grinderman's debut unveiled
Nick Cave and several of his band The Bad Seeds have revealed the
tracklisting for the album they are releasing under the name
Grinderman later this year.

As previously reported, the band features Cave on vocals and guitar,
backed by Warren Ellis, Martyn Casey and Jim Sclavunos.

The eponymous LP, which is reported to be "foul-mouthed and noisy",
will be released on March 5.

Low reveal details of new album
The band's eighth LP has some surprising influences
Low's forthcoming album has been influenced by some surprising
sources, frontman Alan Sparhawk told NME.COM.

'Drums And Guns', due out on March 20 in the US and the UK, is quite
a "departure" for the Minnesota-based trio.

"It sounds very different," the singer/guitarist said of the band's
eighth studio album. "We're using samples in a loose way. Many of the
song structures are based on a recurring, raw sound. The technique is
closer to the way early hip-hop records were put together than the
way we've made albums in the past.

"The best hip-hop artists take a self-effacing, yet self-aggrandising
tone. They acknowledge that they're speaking to someone. Indie rock
sometimes forgets that. This album feels more like I'm speaking to
someone," Sparhawk said.

Low have been known for their slowcore, dark indie rock sound, so it
may come as a surprise that Sparhawk also cites reggae and dub music
as further influences.

"We're always trying to make something unique and listen to different
things," he said. "Lately we've been listening to a lot of reggae and
dub, which has had an influence on this album. So has hanging out
with local hip-hop bands. It's opened my eyes to new things."

Sparhawk said that the main theme of 'Drums And Guns' is "murder and
the justification of it. But it's not just a bunch of murder ballads -
it grapples with questions and tries to find some answers".

As previously announced, next month Low will embark on a tour in
support of the new album that includes stops in the UK, the US and
Europe.

Jimmy Eat World close to finishing new album
The follow-up to 2004's 'Futures' is on the way
Jimmy Eat World are close to completion of their first album in three
years.

The band recorded the follow-up to 2004's 'Futures' at their
rehearsal space in Tempe, Arizona, and have been working with famed
producer and Garbage member Butch Vig on the record.

Speaking to Billboard, Vig revealed: "The record is quite eclectic.
There are three or four songs that sound like classic Jimmy Eat
World, with angular, razor-sharp guitars. There are a couple that are
a lot more dreamy, and some that are very groove-acious. Anybody who
is fan will like this record."

Tracks on the as-yet untitled album are reported to include 'Big
Casino'[b/], 'Be Sensible' and 'Firefight'. It is set for a summer
release.

Madonna: new album has 'new sound'
Producer Stuart Price speaks out
Madonna's producer Stuart Price has said that
her new album will contain a "new sound".

Price also mentioned that the album, the follow up to
2005' 'Confessions On A Dance Floor', will be out this year.

The producer told entertainment channel E! that the new album has
a "new sound". He added that duo had worked with some: "top producers
that are in fashion right now". However, he did not mention who the
collaborations were with.

As previously reported, Madonna is set to release a DVD/CD live
album 'The Confessions Tour Live From London' on January 29.

Patti Smith covers Nirvana
New album also includes Dylan and Hendrix tracks
Patti Smith has covered Nirvana for a new record due out later this
year.

The punk icon, who has been chosen for inducted into the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame in March, is set to release a covers record, which
will also include tracks by the likes of Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix,
Jefferson Airplane and Neil Young.

Although Smith has not revealed which songs she has recorded, she has
said that the as-yet untitled album will feature appearances from
Television's Tom Verlaine, Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea and the Black
Crowes' Richard Robinson.

Smith told Billboard: "It has been a real adventure doing these
songs. I've always wanted to do a covers record, but I didn't think I
had the range. But now, I feel really on the top of my game and ready
to tackle a lot of different songs I thought had strong and relevant
lyrics."

Sure, my mom's high school friend once dated the lead singer of the
band that would become Styx (true story), but when it comes to the
musical hook-up, I've got nothing on former Soup Dragon Sushil K.
Dade, aka Future Pilot AKA. Dude knows and has jammed and recorded
with enough legends of the indie rock to impress a new girl in a new
pub every night, and he's recruited a slew of these fabulous people
for the new, genre-mashing Future Pilot AKA LP.

Secrets From the Clockhouse arrives January 22 on Glasgow's Creeping
Bent imprint, and boasts a bunch of funny, self-referencing track
titles and one hell of a special guests list. Brace yourselves:
Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth, Stuart Murdoch and
Sarah Martin of Belle and Sebastian, Damo Suzuki of Can, Mike Watt of
the Minutemen and the Stooges, Robert Forster and the late Grant
McLennan of the Go-Betweens, Davy Henderson of the Fire Engines,
Scottish folk singer Karine Polwart, Scot rockers Unkle Bob, Scottish
illustrator/novelist Alasdair Gray, and baroque chamber music
ensemble Concerto Caledonia, also Scottish. Whew!...

Malcolm Middleton tours
2007 just isn't the same without Arab Strap. We miss the dour duo.
We miss listening to their bawdy ramblings and drinking ourselves
into oblivion. We miss getting smacked upside the face every time we
try to explain their name to some girl at the bar. Lucky for us U.S.-
dwelling mopes, Arab Strap have announced plans to deliver their
previously reported swan song to our freedom-loving doorsteps.

The Arab Strap farewell compilation Ten Years of Tears-- which
received a respectable 8.2 from Pitchfork's Joe Tangari just
yesterday-- collects a whole mess of Strap favorites, some B-sides
and rarities, and a new tune or two, and arrives Stateside via
Chemikal Underground on February 20. The U.S. version features the
same tracklist as its UK brother (which came out this past October),
reprinted below for your perusal.

While the Strap has split, members Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton
remain quite active with solo pursuits.

Middleton follows up 2005's Into the Woods with A Brighter Beat, out
February 26 on London's Full Time Hobby. Title track single "A
Brighter Beat" hits shoppes January 22 in digital and 7" formats. In
support of the new disc, Malcolm's touring up a storm around Europe
in the coming months, opening shows for both Robin Proper-Sheppard's
Sophia and Badly Drawn Boy, as well as headlining a spate of gigs
with a full band in March.

Moffat's electronic project L. Pierre (aka Lucky Pierre), meanwhile,
follows up 2004's Touchpool with his Melodic Records-stamped third
full-length, Dip, on January 15 in the UK and February 6 in the U.S.

Ten Years of Tears:

01 Preface: Set the Scene
02 Islands (Original 1995 Demo)
03 The First Big Weekend
04 Gilded (Live)
05 I Saw You (Peel Session)
06 The Clearing (Single Version)
07 Packs of Three (Live Acoustic)
08 (Afternoon) Soaps
09 Rocket, Take Your Turn
10 To All a Good Night
11 Turbulence (Bis Remix Radio Edit)
12 The Shy Retirer
13 Blood (Live)
14 If There's No Hope for Us (Rogue Version)
15 Where We've Left Our Love
16 The Girl I Loved Before I Fucked (Full Band Version)
17 Oxytocin
18 There Is No Ending (7" Edit)

A Brighter Beat:

01 We're All Going to Die
02 Fight Like the Night
03 A Brighter Beat
04 Death Love Depression Love Death
05 Fuck It, I Love You
06 Stay Close Sit Tight
07 Four Cigarettes
08 Somebody Loves You Up Late At Night Again
09 Superhero Songwriters

Believe it or not, it's been nearly four years since we've heard so
much as a whimper from the Sea and Cake, but that doesn't mean the
veteran Chicago jazz-inflected pop quartet has slowed down.

Cakers Sam Prekop and Archer Prewitt spent the last few years
focusing on individual pursuits-- each released a solo record in 2005
(Who's Your New Professor and Wilderness, respectively, both on
Thrill Jockey). Drummer John McEntire, meanwhile, has concentrated on
his work with Tortoise, while also recording up a storm at his Soma
Studios. And Eric Claridge traded the bass for a palette and
paintbrush, turning out a pretty sweet series of oil paintings last
year.

Now the fire, wind, earth, and heart of the Sea and Cake (water is
lame, man) have reunited at last, and by their powers combined,
nearly completed work on album number seven. Pitchfork caught up with
Sea and Cake captain Sam Prekop yesterday for a chat about recording
the latest LP at a "rock'n'roll boot camp," his photography book, his
electronic record with McEntire, and the fine art of the album cover.

"We're almost done" with the as-yet-untitled record, reported
Prekop. "We have one more song to mix, and then the sequencing." It
should see the light of day in May, and like all previous Sea and
Cake full lengths, bear the Thrill Jockey stamp...

We're not sure if the title of the newly announced Kaiser Chiefs
record, Yours Truly, Angry Mob, refers to the rioters the band once
predicted, but we do know that the Kaiser Chiefs sure are fond of
large groups of revved-up people.
The Angry Mob will invade, pitchforks and torches aloft,
internationally on February 26 and in North America on March 27 via
Universal. It was produced by Stephen Street at Berkshire's Hook End
Manor and mixed by both Street and Cenzo Townshend at London's
Olympic Studios.
The disc's first single, "Ruby", is due a week earlier on February 19
on B*Unique on CD, seven inch, and as a download. Each format brags a
different B-side: "From the Neck Down" (CD), "Admire You" (seven
inch), and "Ruby" (live at Berlin's Kesselhaus in November 2006)
(exclusive to the download). These will all be available digitally as
well.

Tracklist:

01 Ruby
02 The Angry Mob
03 Heat Dies Down
04 Highroyds
05 Love's Not a Competition (But I'm Winning)
06 Thank You Very Much
07 I Can Do It Without You
08 My Kind of Guy
09 Everything Is Average Nowadays
10 Boxing Champ
11 Learnt My Lesson Well
12 Try Your Best
13 Retirement

Arcade Fire Reveal Tracklist, Release Date, More Shows
"Do you remember how music used to make you feel?"

It's an Arcade Fire weekend!
Barely 24 hours after revealing their second album's first single,
the band has unleashed a slew of information on their thirsty fans.
According to a terrifically silly YouTube video posted by the band,
Neon Bible will be out March 5 in Europe and March 6 in North America
on Merge Records. It will contain the following songs, clips of which
can be heard in said video: